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Large wind turbines #6177944 02/10/16 09:40 PM
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Choctaw Offline OP
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The place just north of ours is about to get one of those big-honking wind turbines. For you guys that hunt near these eyesores, do the critters react negatively to them? Are they noisy?

Thanks.

Re: Large wind turbines [Re: Choctaw] #6177948 02/10/16 09:46 PM
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Yes, and yes, and yes to all of the truck traffic and then power lines being run through wherever the easement goes. These are industrial developments.

Re: Large wind turbines [Re: Choctaw] #6177957 02/10/16 09:51 PM
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Only for a short period of time. They will get use to the truck traffic. I used to hunt an active pipe line, truck came through at least 2x a day. No deer cared when my truck was parked in sight


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Re: Large wind turbines [Re: Choctaw] #6177961 02/10/16 10:00 PM
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Thanks guys. It is going in about a quarter mile from my north fence line along a county road. This is the eastern most turbine of the complex though, so maybe being on the end will minimize the impact to my place. Yuck.

Re: Large wind turbines [Re: Choctaw] #6177968 02/10/16 10:05 PM
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BP,

Like you, I've not noticed much issue with oil and gas activity in the long run, but these wind turbines are different. They are just horrible in my experience. There are places where they can be placed to minimize impacts, but the companies want them close as possible to the big city customers, which is also where there is more wildlife. About the only thing that benefits from them are predators who pick up the birds killed by them.

Re: Large wind turbines [Re: Choctaw] #6177971 02/10/16 10:09 PM
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decook Online Content
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Eyesore is right. Even California didn't want them. Lucky for us we can contribute tax dollars to keep them afloat soap


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Re: Large wind turbines [Re: Choctaw] #6178019 02/10/16 10:24 PM
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Pros and cons on my Wind Turbines.

Pros
Make lots of noisy when making power.
Nice roads to drive around on.
Do not affect deer movement.
Not much road traffic from company trucks. Monitored from office in Houston
Don't see any dead birds

Cons
Eyesore
Shadow the blades produce. Think you see something moving. and its just a shadow


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Re: Large wind turbines [Re: YellowDog] #6178042 02/10/16 10:34 PM
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Originally Posted By: YellowDog
Pros and cons on my Wind Turbines.

Pros
Make lots of noisy when making power.
Nice roads to drive around on.
Do not affect deer movement.
Not much road traffic from company trucks. Monitored from office in Houston
Don't see any dead birds

Cons
Eyesore
Shadow the blades produce. Think you see something moving. and its just a shadow



We've had them about 4 years. Not a big fan of them because of the way they clutter up the landscape and the noise they make, but I don't think the deer care one bit.

Last edited by chalet; 02/10/16 10:34 PM.

Shoot. Eat. Repeat.
Re: Large wind turbines [Re: Choctaw] #6178043 02/10/16 10:34 PM
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Early AM, they'll put you to sleep watching them spin.

Re: Large wind turbines [Re: Choctaw] #6178078 02/10/16 10:53 PM
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I've killed two deer within 100yds of one, and they like the brush-free area around one of them-deer are nearly always there when I drive through. They get used to the mills very quickly. The service trucks don't come very often, just often enough for the deer to be used to an occasional vehicle.

As YellowDog pointed out, the shadows make you see things and they are noisy, that's about it.

The techs haul off the dead birds. We drove by one of our mills and there was a dead buzzard; 30 minutes and one service truck later he was gone.


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Re: Large wind turbines [Re: Choctaw] #6178084 02/10/16 10:55 PM
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Very much an eyesore but you should be fine

Re: Large wind turbines [Re: Choctaw] #6178398 02/11/16 02:35 AM
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doesnt effect the deer at our place

Re: Large wind turbines [Re: Choctaw] #6178514 02/11/16 03:24 AM
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This deer was killed less than 100 yards from one. I hunt in a huge wind farm and the deer are everywhere.
When they were building them you couldn't hunt around them but after 5 years the deer are used to them and totally oblivious to the noise they make and the traffic. If you drive a white gas pickup, which is what the wind farm workers drive, they just stand there and stare at you. I know of a lot of 150 to 180 inch deer and two 200 plus deer killed within a few hundred yards of windmills. And the noise they make covers any noise you make.

Re: Large wind turbines [Re: jeffbird] #6178521 02/11/16 03:27 AM
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Originally Posted By: jeffbird
BP,

Like you, I've not noticed much issue with oil and gas activity in the long run, but these wind turbines are different. They are just horrible in my experience. There are places where they can be placed to minimize impacts, but the companies want them close as possible to the big city customers, which is also where there is more wildlife. About the only thing that benefits from them are predators who pick up the birds killed by them.


I have to ask anyone with this reply. Have you actually hunted any amount of time in a wind farm? I too hate the sight of them, they are a huge blemish on the land. But the deer don't give a care. In our county every ranch with a wind farm is also a top deer hunting ranch. And the real added benefit is that the roads are first class.

Re: Large wind turbines [Re: Choctaw] #6178683 02/11/16 12:12 PM
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I have never hunted near one. To me it isn't about the hunt. It is about the subsidies requires to make them viable and also the killing of Texas natural beauty. I long for the memories of a time before these robotic virus became common.

There. I said it.


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Re: Large wind turbines [Re: Choctaw] #6178695 02/11/16 12:27 PM
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You can see there are several around the lease I'm on, does not seem to bother the game at all, the highlighted area is hard to see, but that's approx my lease area
Although I can't say how the game was affected when they put them in, but I would not think it would take them long to get used to the traffic


Re: Large wind turbines [Re: jeffbird] #6178779 02/11/16 01:54 PM
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Originally Posted By: jeffbird
BP,

Like you, I've not noticed much issue with oil and gas activity in the long run, but these wind turbines are different. They are just horrible in my experience. There are places where they can be placed to minimize impacts, but the companies want them close as possible to the big city customers, which is also where there is more wildlife. About the only thing that benefits from them are predators who pick up the birds killed by them.
seen a few that are not very close to any big city


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Re: Large wind turbines [Re: Choctaw] #6178807 02/11/16 02:17 PM
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The big problem is when they ice up and start to thaw out. They can throw a brick size chunk of ice. Two to three hundred yards away. Ive found big chunks of ice out in the middle of the turbines.


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Re: Large wind turbines [Re: Choctaw] #6178824 02/11/16 02:32 PM
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Thanks for the input, everyone. At our place the silence can make your ears ring in the morning and there may be two or three vehicles that pass by throughout an entire weekend. I guess those days are over now.

Re: Large wind turbines [Re: huntwest] #6178917 02/11/16 03:23 PM
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Originally Posted By: huntwest
Originally Posted By: jeffbird
BP,

Like you, I've not noticed much issue with oil and gas activity in the long run, but these wind turbines are different. They are just horrible in my experience. There are places where they can be placed to minimize impacts, but the companies want them close as possible to the big city customers, which is also where there is more wildlife. About the only thing that benefits from them are predators who pick up the birds killed by them.


I have to ask anyone with this reply. Have you actually hunted any amount of time in a wind farm? I too hate the sight of them, they are a huge blemish on the land. But the deer don't give a care. In our county every ranch with a wind farm is also a top deer hunting ranch. And the real added benefit is that the roads are first class.


They came in on a ranch in the coast near Corpus about ten years ago and that was the last year I visited that ranch. It was a disgusting destruction that turned of some pristine habitat into an industrial grid. There is more wildlife to consider than just deer. In the Panhandle, they are wiping out the last remnants of native prairies and are one of the major reasons Lesser Prairie Chickens are being pushed into endangered status. If they are sited in ag areas in West Texas and North Central Texas they have less impacts than they do along the coast or on the Panhandle prairie remnants. Site location is the key to reducing impacts, and there is some improvement in how and where they are locating them. The push to put them along the coast to fuel Houston, Corpus, Austin, and San Antonio is my major complaint. If they are pushed inland even just 30 miles, the impacts drop significantly.


Re: Large wind turbines [Re: Choctaw] #6178944 02/11/16 03:36 PM
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They also kill protected birds.

Re: Large wind turbines [Re: Choctaw] #6179037 02/11/16 04:48 PM
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We have 14 along our southern fence line....some so close I'm sure they would fall onto our property.

Pro's:

1. I don't think it really affects the deer population
2. I think the area is hunted much less - in fact, it didn't appear
to be leased at all for 4-5 years. Now I see evidence of being hunted (couple feeder
and stands); however, I never hear gun shots and haven't actually seen someone coming
or going from any of those stands.

Con's

1. it does look like an industrial development in an area that used to be pristine
2. The shadows carry a long way. Nothing like hunting with a shadow spinning over you. I promise
it will make you move to another spot.
3. Noise vary's with wind speed. The worst while hunting is a soft wind when it's very
quiet. If one isn't perfectly in balance you get a thunk..thunk...thunk...thunk. Very annoying - It's kinda like water dripping. If it's
blowing hard it sounds like distant jet engines at the house over a mile away. That being said most of the time
I really don't notice the noise or maybe I'm just used to it.
4. At night, there is no more going out and being amazed at the pitch dark and stars. There are hundreds of red lights
surrounding us.

I love hunting but part of it is my desire to be away from everything in nature. The hunting is great...maybe even better
with lesser competition. The "nature" part suffers...

Last edited by Bowhunt66; 02/11/16 04:49 PM.
Re: Large wind turbines [Re: Choctaw] #6179289 02/11/16 07:49 PM
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They kill birds. I've seen antelope standing right underneath the windmills. I don't think it bother deer much.

Re: Large wind turbines [Re: Bowhunt66] #6179340 02/11/16 08:39 PM
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Originally Posted By: Bowhunt66
We have 14 along our southern fence line....some so close I'm sure they would fall onto our property.

Pro's:

1. I don't think it really affects the deer population
2. I think the area is hunted much less - in fact, it didn't appear
to be leased at all for 4-5 years. Now I see evidence of being hunted (couple feeder
and stands); however, I never hear gun shots and haven't actually seen someone coming
or going from any of those stands.

Con's

1. it does look like an industrial development in an area that used to be pristine
2. The shadows carry a long way. Nothing like hunting with a shadow spinning over you. I promise
it will make you move to another spot.
3. Noise vary's with wind speed. The worst while hunting is a soft wind when it's very
quiet. If one isn't perfectly in balance you get a thunk..thunk...thunk...thunk. Very annoying - It's kinda like water dripping. If it's
blowing hard it sounds like distant jet engines at the house over a mile away. That being said most of the time
I really don't notice the noise or maybe I'm just used to it.
4. At night, there is no more going out and being amazed at the pitch dark and stars. There are hundreds of red lights
surrounding us.


I love hunting but part of it is my desire to be away from everything in nature. The hunting is great...maybe even better
with lesser competition. The "nature" part suffers...
I like pitch black with stars.

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